


The Search for Halloween: An Unusual October + Inktober Collab

by Jarl_Deathwolf



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Halloween, Halloween Costumes, Haunted Houses, No Angst, Post-Reveal Pre-Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Scary Movies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-03
Updated: 2019-10-31
Packaged: 2020-11-22 07:42:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 10,675
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20870651
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jarl_Deathwolf/pseuds/Jarl_Deathwolf
Summary: Halloween isn't a major holiday in France, but that hasn't made the gang any less curious about the traditions of this spooky festival. So when the opportunity comes up to do a school project over one foreign holiday, Alya, Adrien, Nino, and Marinette jump at the chance. Join them as they try to discover for themselves the true meaning of Halloween!Each chapter includes an art piece provided by the wonderful and talented Noanie! (https://noanieactuallydrawingalot.tumblr.com/)





	1. Ornament+Harvest

Class was a blur as Marinette stared doe-eyed at the back of her boyfriend’s head. Everything had happened so quickly and she was still trying to take it all in. Adrien and Chat Noir being the same person was a shock, but not nearly as much of a surprise as the realization that came immediately afterwards. That if Adrien was Chat Noir and Chat Noir was in love with Ladybug and Ladybug was _her_… 

...Adrien loved her. 

A dreamy giggle escaped her, causing a tittering of laughter from her nearest classmates. Ms Bustier glanced over her shoulder, but everybody had quickly switched to a mask of seriousness. A little hesitantly, she returned her attention to the board, letting Marinette continue her daydream.

Naturally, she and Adrien were… something… now. Wait. _Were_ they dating? Her eyes widened and she gasped when she realized neither of them had really asked the other out yet. Sure, they were closer than ever, but aside from some hand holding and longing looks… nothing much had really changed? They definitely hadn’t kissed yet. 

Before Marinette could spiral further, Alya elbowed her. When Marinette looked her way, Alya nodded her head towards the front of the classroom, just in time for Ms Bustier to turn around with a big smile on her face. Behind her, written in big letters, was ‘Holidays from Around the World,’ with a bunch of names (presumably of holidays) written below it. Some she recognized, but most were obscure.

“Now, as I mentioned earlier, you’ll be breaking up into groups of four.” Ms Bustier passed worksheets down the rows. “You will be filling in the boxes with various ways that your chosen holiday is celebrated.” She returned to her desk at the front of the room and leaned back against it. “I’ll give you the remainder of our class time to choose your groups as well as decide on your holiday.”

Without further prompting, the room was filled with the noise of backpacks being picked up and papers being gathered. Marinette’s group had it the easiest - their boys simply turned around. Her heart did a little backflip at Adrien’s bright smile as he looked up at them. Or, more specifically, at _her_.

“So, dudes, what holiday were we thinking?” Nino adjusted his cap as he placed an arm on the back of his seat. “I don’t have any preferences, so I’m down for whatever, dudes.”

Alya smirked. “What do you guys know about American-style Halloween?”

Marinette shrugged. “Um… there’s candy and pumpkins involved? And…” She frowned. “...Scary movies and stuff.”

Meanwhile Adrien’s eyes sparkled with excitement. “Oh, wow! I know tons of stuff. I always see it pop up on the Internet, but I’ve never got to try any of it, ‘cause, well…”

“Your father,” Nino supplied. His eyes had narrowed slightly before returning to normal.

“Right!” Adrien looked toward Alya. “Did you want to do Halloween, then?”

“Well, ‘tis the season, yeah? October just started, so we’ve already got a leg up over the others. It shouldn’t be too hard to get the stuff we need, or find ways to get the real Halloween experience.”

Adrien’s eyes widened. “We’re going to find the Halloween spirit!”

Biting down a laugh, Alya replied, “Sure, sunshine. And I think I know just how to start…”

\----------------------

After classes were done for the day, they all agreed to meet up at Marinette’s place later, after Adrien’s fencing practice. Alya disappeared with Nino in tow, refusing to explain what they’d even be doing for the day. The only thing she’d let slip was that they were going to need some knives and table space. 

Both of which were pretty easy to obtain. This late in the day, the cooking was already winding down at the bakery. All Marinette had needed to do was some cleaning to have enough space for all four of them. Knives were a little harder, but not by much. Just because they were bakers first and foremost didn’t mean that was _all_ they cooked.

Knowing Alya, whose tendency for over the top plans was only rivaled by Marinette’s own, Marinette opted to get a bunch of towels ready too. And after a moment’s thought, a bucket of water. 

Once all that was set up, she heard the door to the bakery open and Adrien’s voice as he talked to her parents. Her heart fluttered again, but she pushed it down as she left the kitchen.  
“Thank you both so much! This is delicious.” Adrien nearly walked into her as he turned the corner. He had been looking over his shoulder while clutching a chocolate croissant. “Oh! Sorry, Mari.” He gave her that familiar look that she’d always caught Chat Noir giving Ladybug. He tore a piece off his croissant. “Want some?”

She laughed. “Sunshine, I _live_ here. I can have some whenever I want.”

He still held out the piece.

Her resolve weakened as she took it before shoving it into her mouth. “Not a word.” She motioned for him to follow as she took him into the living room. “Up for some Mecha Strike?”

The answer was, of course, yes. After an hour of gaming, the door to the bakery opened again and she recognized Alya and Nino’s voices. By the time they’d finished their last match and headed into the kitchen, the two of them had already set their paper bags on the kitchen counter. There was a manic glint in Alya’s eyes.

“Wanna try to guess what I’ve got in these bags, M?”

Marinette glanced between the tall, heavy bags and the knives. “Um… Pumpkin carving?”

Alya deflated a little. “Well ...Yes. You got that too fast.” She brushed it away. “Anyway, I’ve got four fresh pumpkins, some candles, and some cinnamon.”

“Cinnamon?” Adrien asked as Alya passed him one of the pumpkins, which he then handed off to Marinette. 

“The internet told me it makes them smell nice,” Alya said with a shrug. “I guess we’ll find out.”

Once they all had pumpkins in front of them and knives in hand, there was a general air of confusion. Alya frowned as she turned hers around. Nino tapped at his, his ear pressed to the side. Adrien glanced between his knife and his pumpkin, biting his lip nervously. 

A smile flickered on Marinette’s face. “Do you guys want me to go get my markers?”

“Yes!”

“Thanks, girl.”

“Totally.”

With the pumpkins marked, they started carving. They didn’t get far before Adrien remembered they were supposed to empty the pumpkins first.

“Shoot,” Alya said. “I should’ve picked up some scoopy things while I was out.”

“What? No! Tearing out the pumpkin guts is part of the Halloween spirit,” Adrien said as he rolled up his sleeves and stuck his hand inside. His eyes widened as he pulled it out, glistening wet, orange… pulp clenched in his fist. 

Marinette rushed to place some paper towels down. “I think we’re supposed to save the seeds…?”

Adrien slowly nodded. “That sounds right.”

After that, they each started working at their own pace, completely entranced with their designs. Marinette had chosen a smaller knife so she could do some precision work, but despite the extra detail her diligence allowed her to keep up with the others. 

More than a few times, she caught Adrien trying to steal glances at her pumpkin. She stuck her tongue out at him and put herself between him and the art piece in progress. He huffed in mock irritation and got back to his own piece.

An hour passed before they spoke.

“Alright, guys,” Alya said, washing her hands off at the sink. “Let’s see what everybody’s got. M?”

Marinette turned her pumpkin towards the others. She’d decided to do a cat’s face with carved whiskers and ears. Just as she’d hoped, Adrien blushed as he looked at it,a soft smile on his lips as his eyes crept up to hers. 

“Nice job! What about you, sunshine?” No response. Alya snapped her fingers near his face. “Hey, centerfold! You still there?”

“Huh? Oh!” Adrien quickly took the towel off his pumpkin. As jack o’lanterns went, it was pretty basic. At least, from Marinette’s limited experience. Triangle nose and eyes, big toothy grin. He’d made the teeth ‘sharp’ by turning them into triangles too. “It’s a vampire pumpkin!’ He picked it up and shoved it in her face. “Bleh!” Giggling, she batted him away. 

“Whoa, dudes. Save the flirting for later,” Nino said with a knowing smirk. Immediately, both of them broke into deep blushes.

“Aww, babe, you embarrassed them. And, more importantly, you did it before I could take a picture.” Alya smacked her boyfriend on the arm playfully. “Well, I guess it’s my turn now.” 

She took off the towel, revealing a classic wavy ghost flailing its arms. Marinette’s eyebrows shot up as she realized just how many squiggly lines made up the specter. 

“How’d you get all those curved lines? I was struggling just with the few that I had…”

Adrien quickly nodded. “Yeah, that’s why I got stuck doing a bunch of straight lines.”

Alya leaned against her pumpkin with a smile. “Trade secrets.” She turned to Nino. “What about you, babe? What’ve you got for us?”

“You dudes ready for this?” At their nods, he quickly yanked off the cover. Underneath… was a normal pumpkin. Yeah, the top was cut off, but so was everybody else’s. Alya gave him an unimpressed look. “Wait! It’s still missing something.”

“Yeah, you bet it is,” Alya grumbled. “_Everything_.”

Ignoring her, Nino took off his cap and placed it on the pumpkin. “Perfection, my dudes. It’s Nino Junior!” Adrien snickered, which he deftly turned to a cough when Alya turned around to glare at him. 

“Well… this was _mostly_ a good start,” Alya said with a pointed look at Nino’s pumpkin, but her facade was breaking down as smile threatened to spread across her face. “I think I’m looking forward to this whole Halloween thing.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Link to the artist's tumblr: https://noanieactuallydrawingalot.tumblr.com/post/188095786715/the-search-for-halloween-chapter-1-ornament


	2. Magical Hijinks + Tasty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien and Marinette make spooky Halloween cookies, but they keep disappearing...

Their attempts to make pumpkin seeds went… poorly. Either they didn’t do it right or maybe (probably) Americans were just really weird. Or maybe eating the insides of their pumpkins while said pumpkins watched from the counter put a damper on their appetites. 

Alya shook her head at the seeds. “I think that’s enough Halloween for us. At least for one day.” 

“You guys are leaving?” Marinette glanced between them, a note of worry in her voice.

“Sorry, dude. We’ve still got time for a date before we need to head home.” Nino gave Marinette an apologetic look as she hugged his girlfriend. “We can figure out what we’re doing next in the group chat. I’ve heard about some stuff around town that we can maybe make work.”

Adrien was curious about that. While they weren’t the first in the city to celebrate Halloween, there certainly wasn’t a lot of others. If it was a Halloween-centric event, then it was probably small. Unless Nino had something else in mind?

In a voice barely above a murmur, Adrien asked, “What are you planning…?”

Nino simple tugged at his cap and grinned. “You’ll see, bro. Just make sure you’ve got a costume ready.” The couple left, leaving Marinette and Adrien alone. 

The silence was tense, full of unspoken words. Instead of speaking the ones on his mind, he panicked and asked, “Do you want to bake some Halloween cookies?”

“Is that a part of Halloween too?” Marinette asked

“It is now, I guess. At least for us.”

“Hm…” Marinette wrinkled her forehead in an adorable way that made Adrien’s heart melt. “We should have frosting already… I can pull some out and dye it. Let me just get some batter together and we can get started!”

Adrien gave her his warmest smile. “That sounds great! What do you want me to do?” He was determined to be as helpful as possible.

“Um… You can have the very important mission of...” Marinette’s eyes darted around the room before widening as they landed on a big spoon. “Stirring!”

A little underwhelming, but… “Of course! Anything for you.”

A light blush spread across her cheeks before she smiled softly back at him. One of her hands caressed the side of his face. “I know.”

Her eyes widened at their proximity and she cleared her throat. “I guess I’ll, um… get to it then.”

“R-right.” 

Before long, Adrien was entirely focused on his stirring. It took some warming up, but they fell into a familiar rhythm of banter and joking and dancing around what they actually wanted to say. In a way it was comforting. Despite the revelations that had rocked their world, they could still be as close as ever. But as they pushed the cut out cookies into the oven, Adrien couldn’t help but ask himself…

...Could they be even closer?

While Marinette was looking at the cookies with self satisfaction, he reached out and took her hand. Surprised, she blinked up at him and he quickly averted his gaze. He used his free hand to rub the back of his neck as a powerful blush blossomed across his face. 

“Marinette… bugaboo… Would you like to…”

_Don’t mess this up don’t mess this up don’t mess this up_

Then he looked into her eyes and could feel his flimsy confidence shatter. 

“...Play some Mecha Strike while we wait?”

As he called himself a coward in the comfort of his own mind, Marinette let out a breath that he hadn’t realized she was holding in. “Y-yeah,” She squeaked. “Sure. Let’s, um, let’s do that.”

\-------------------

After a quick break to pull out the cookies and let them cool for a bit, they returned to the kitchen. Marinette’s eyes narrowed when she saw that a few of them were missing - three skull-shaped ones, to be specific. Then she remembered Adrien’s conveniently timed bathroom break in the middle of one of their matches.

“You know, kitty,” she began with a chastising lilt to her voice, “you could’ve just waited a little longer before sneaking in for a treat. You didn’t need to steal them.”

Adrien looked at her, baffled. “What? But they didn’t even have frosting on them yet! Where would be the fun in that?”

“I don’t know! _I’m_ not the criminal mastermind here - you are!”

“Look,” Adrien pinched the bridge of his nose. “I promise I didn’t steal any of them. What if we just… decorate the remainder?”

She pouted at him, but nodded. He breathed a sigh of relief, but couldn’t help but wonder where the cookies had gone. Once the frosting hit the cookies, he pushed those thoughts out of his mind. He wanted to devote all his focus to the moment, making cookies with Marinette.

\-------------------

Which lasted all of five minutes when Adrien stepped out of the room to take a call from Nathalie, only to return to see two more cookies had gone missing. The force of his pouting eventually got her attention and she pulled out her ear plugs.

“What’s up?” She asked as she tucked her phone away in her purse.

“Betrayal!” He gestured at the two missing pumpkin cookies. “I thought we were eating them together, Mari.” He looked away dramatically. “But I see revenge was more important than bonding with me.”

Marinette crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at him. He doubled down on the dramatic flair, putting the back of his hand to his forehead and draping himself against the refrigerator. 

“Oh no! My lady… starving me… I can’t go on…” He peeked at her and saw that she was fighting down a grin. She rolled her eyes playfully and shook her head.

“If it wasn’t you, then who took our cookies- Oh. Right.” She giggled and started frantically searching the messy tabletop, shifting around the containers and dishes and ingredients. He watched her bemusedly until she pushed aside a box of flour, revealing Tikki sitting down with an orange frosted, pumpkin-shaped cookie as big as she was. She immediately stopped nibbling on it when she felt eyes on her, and at least had the decency to look sheepish as she looked up at them. Nearby, Plagg snoozed contentedly, no doubt in a food coma of his own.

“Um… hello. How is the decorating going?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Be sure to check out the artist at [her tumblr](https://noanieactuallydrawingalot.tumblr.com/)!


	3. Dragon + Cheap Costume

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Continuing in their quest to learn about Halloween, the gang goes out to buy costumes.

Marinette looked at herself in the full body mirror one last time. She tugged nervously at her skirt as her eyes roamed over every inch of her outfit. Everything needed to be as perfect as she could make it. 

“Marinette,” Tikki said from just over her shoulder. “You look fine, but you will always find flaws if you look for them. Besides, you guys are just hanging out today, right?”

“I know, but…” She trailed off, her hands falling her sides.

But what? Her relationship with Adrien was better than ever, she could usually talk without stuttering now that she understood that underneath his cool exterior was a huge dork with a love of cat puns. When they were together, she felt at ease and she knew he felt the same way. It was just like it always had been when they were wearing the masks. But this build up, the moments where she was getting ready to see him… her heart fluttered and she felt like her nerves would be the death of her. 

“Trust me. The hardest part is getting started.” Tikki rested on Marinette shoulder. “Just put one foot in front of the other. You’ll get there eventually!”

Scratching the top of her kwami’s head, Marinette said, “Thanks, Tikki. I think I’m as ready as I’m going to be. Let’s head downstairs while we wait.” She held open her purse and watched Tikki fly inside.

While she was going down the stairs, she checked the group chat. Apparently, Adrien was about to leave and he’d have the Gorilla swing around with the limo to pick everyone up. All she had to do was be ready to go when he got here…

...And since she was already ready, all that was left for her was waiting. Which did nothing for her frayed nerves. 

Marinette was pulled out of her spiralling thoughts with the delicious smell of the pumpkins that they had carved a couple days ago. Which was surprising, since there were only two pumpkins still here and both of them were perched on her balcony outside. She followed the scent to the living room, and a platter of baked seeds between her parents.

She said with a frown, “You guys actually like those things?”

Her mom, who had been watching Tom play against his akumatized self in Max’s video game, looked over her shoulder at Marinette. 

“Sweetheart, you ate plain, unseasoned seeds. Of course you didn’t like them!”

While Marinette winced at the slightly chastising tone (she really should have known that), she looked dubiously at the plate that was stacked high with baked pumpkin seeds. Admittedly, they smelled a lot more appetizing this time around. 

“Go on, dear. Take some!”

Deciding to trust her parents, she tentatively took a single seed and had a bite. She relaxed as she took in the flavor. _Much_ better than their attempt had been. 

“Just in case you do this again, we used olive oil, salt, garlic powder, paprika, and black pepper.” Her mom took the plate back. “Now, you’d better save your appetite. I’m sure your friends will want to go out to eat today.”

Before she could reply, her phone buzzed. Her eyes widened at a text from Adrien saying that they were all outside. 

With a quick goodbye to her parents, Marinette rushed out, anxieties forgotten as the Halloween spirit began to take hold.

\----------------

The four of them quickly spread through the little costume shop, searching for suitable outfits for weekend plans. Alya was a couple rows away from Marinette when she heard her call out.

“Oh! Hey, Alya, I think I found something you’d like.”

Alya tracked her down to see Marinette holding up one of those old-style medieval princess outfits. The ones with the tall cone hat and a ribbon that trailed out from it. In this case, the dress was a glittery pink and the trailing ribbon was a baby blue. To put it simply, it was Marinette in dress form. 

“You and Nino could be a matching knight and princess! It’d be so cute!”

A switch flipped in Alya’s head, a basic plan coming together.

“That’s awesome, M, but Nino already has his heart set on a minstrel costume,” Alya said. It technically wasn’t a lie, but she knew if she wanted to, she could definitely convince him to do the matching outfits. “But hey! What about you and Adrien do that!”

Marinette paled a little, which could almost be ignored with how her cheeks blushed. “I don’t know, Alya…”

Adrien poked his head around the corner. “Did someone say my name?” His eyes widened when he saw the dress Marinette was holding. He grinned. “Is that what you're going to be wearing?” He gasped, covering his mouth. “You’ll be so adorable! Can I be the knight? Please?”

“I… um… sure?” Marinette struggled to keep the costume from being crushed as Adrien hugged her close and spun her around. She failed to hold in a squeak, though. 

Shaking her head with a smile, Alya moved a row over, where her boyfriend was browsing more outfits. 

Nino tapped his finger against his chin in thought. “Huh.” 

“What’s up, babe?”

“I thought were we costume shopping, but it looks like you were just costume _shipping_.” He grinned at her and she gently elbowed him in the side.

“You’ve been hanging out with sunshine too much. His punning has gotten to you.”

“Whatever you say, babe,” he said as he kissed her temple.

\---------------------

The next few days passed by pretty quickly and the gang found themselves at a Renaissance Faire that Nino had discovered while they were carving pumpkins. It was as good an excuse as any to get dressed up in costumes, and at least they weren’t getting weird looks for it.

Well, they weren’t just yet anyway. If the glint in Adrien’s eyes was anything to go by, they would be getting plenty soon enough.

“Uh, you okay there, Sir Centerfold?” Alya watched him warily. He’d really gotten into his role as Marinette’s knight in shining armor, a situation that Marinette was just as enthusiastic about. No surprise there, since it entailed him keeping an arm around her at almost all times and making loud declarations of fealty and love. 

If they didn’t figure out where their relationship was after _this_, Alya was going to lock them in a room somewhere until they did. 

She followed where he was looking, her eyes widening as she saw what had caught his attention. There was a booth labeled ‘The Dragon’s Cave.’ Pay a few euros and you can have your picture taken with the ‘dragon'. Right now, a few kids were ambling away from the ‘fearsome beast’, leaving a clear opening for…

Oh no.

Adrien strode past her, drawing his homemade sword from its scabbard as he did so - apparently the costume didn't come with one, so he had to improvise.

“Back, foul beast!” Adrien cried as he brandished a wobbling tin sword at the dragon. Or, at least, a man in a very poorly built dragon costume. One that left his face - and therefore his annoyed expression - on full view for everyone to see. 

Alya pinched the bridge of her nose in irritation. She glanced over to Marinette, but she was too busy dying of laughter to be of any help. Surely calm, chill Nino would- no... no, he was frantically strumming his lute, a goofy look on his face as he backed up his best bud in his ‘fight’ against the ‘dragon’. Alya put her hands to her face, partly in embarrassment, but partly to hide the grin that was threatening to break free.

And here she was, having worried that her bar wench outfit would be too silly.

No, leave it to her friends to reach maximum silliness all their own.


	4. Speed Run + Ride

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An amusement park is pretty similiar to Halloween... right?

It wasn’t until late in the following week that they had an opportunity to continue their ‘research’. There was a lack of anything Halloween to do in Paris, leaving them scraping the bottom of the barrel. So when Alya frantically spammed their chat with advertisements for a local theme park that had decided to adopt a spooky theme for the month, they had to jump on the opportunity. 

...And Marinette was finding that her dislike of scary movies definitely extended to thrill rides. The idea of getting on one of their roller coasters was enough to turn her legs to jelly, but so far her friends had been fairly understanding. Well, in the sense that Alya didn’t badger Marinette too much about it as she dragged Nino with her to ride ALL the rides. 

In the end, it meant a lot of cotton candy, teacups, and log rides for her and Adrien. But she could tell he wanted more. 

He didn’t say anything, of course. At this point, though, she could read her kitty by body language alone. And as much as he didn’t want to admit it, she could see from the way his eyes wandered to the tracks and how his ears perked up at the delighted screams that he was yearning to get onto one of those rides. 

Sighing, she leaned up against him. He tensed a little before relaxing and resting a tentative arm around her. It was much closer than they usually got as Marinette and Adrien, but it was nothing new to Ladybug and Chat Noir. And maybe, just maybe, she could borrow a little of her alter ego’s confidence and bravery. Just for a little bit.

“You really want to go on one of those rides, don’t you?”

There was a pause. “I don’t want you to be alone down here.”

“That wasn’t what I asked.”

He chuckled and looked down at her. “Well… it _would_ be nice to feel something in my heart besides my father’s neglect.”

There was a flicker of a smile across her face before she reached for his hand and squeezed it. “Your jokes suck, sunshine.”

“They make you smile. That’s all they were ever meant to do.”

She sighed and got up, tugging Adrien along behind her.

“Um, where are we going, bugaboo?”

“Alya and Nino went over here, so we’ll meet up with them and head over to that big roller coaster they were talking about.”

“...Are you sure? Maybe we should start smaller-”

She shook her head. “We’ll have time for one more ride, so we’d better make this count. Make up for the wasted time.”

“Hey, it wasn’t wasted. I spent it with you, after all.”

She stopped to bury her head in his arm, fighting back a fearsome blush. “You need to stop being so sweet or you’ll have nowhere to go when we actually start dating.”

That was enough to shut him up as his cheeks reddened.

They caught up with Alya and Nino. The only clue they gave that they’d noticed how flustered Adrien and Marinette were, was a raised eyebrow from Alya and a subtle thumbs up from Nino. 

“So, dudes, you want to head out now or-”

Marinette cut him off, pushing her words out so she wouldn’t chicken out. “I want to go on Dead Man’s Speed Run!”

There was a silence following her declaration.

“Uhh, dude are you-” 

“You heard the girl, Nino!” Alya quickly snagged Marinette’s hand and dragged everyone towards the looming monstrosity that was Dead Man’s Speed Run.

The crowds had been thinning out as closing time approached. There was practically no wait for them as they rushed to the front of the line to get strapped in, the last charge of the Dead Man’s Speed Run before they shut the ride off for the day. 

The whole ride took maybe three minutes, if that. Looking back, Marinette could pinpoint the exact scariest moment. It hadn’t been the last third, when they emerged from the dark tunnel into disorienting lights and projections. It wasn’t the bulk of the ride where it was basically one long fall down a hill, accompanied by a long scream that she _suspected_ was hers, but wasn’t entirely sure. No, the scariest part was when they’d fastened in and the ride shuddered to life as it began its tortuously slow ascent. 

Because it was at that moment that it clicked - there was no turning back. There was only bearing through it.

When they got off the ride, Marinette realized she was clutching to Adrien’s chest. She couldn’t do anything about it, though, since her legs felt like jello underneath her. Almost all her focus was on returning feeling to her limbs, which very nearly made her miss the conversation going on.

“I dunno, dude, those pics are a scam. Waaaay jacked up prices, ya know?”

“Maybe, but I just have to have it. I mean look at this!” 

Marinette finally looked up and raised her eyebrow at the picture in front of her. Adrien noticed the look she was giving it.

“Mari-”

“Don’t you dare.”

“But you look so cu-”

“Put your wallet away, _Agreste_.”

“But Mari,” he whined and she could already feel her resolve crumbling. “I don’t have any pictures of all my friends together and who knows when my father will let me out again…” 

In her foolishness, she looked up at his face to see him giving her the widest, greenest kitten eyes she had ever seen in her life. Any thoughts of denying him dissolved into nothingness.

After letting out a long groan, she said, “...Fine.” As Nino and Alya went to grab some cotton candy for the road, Adrien and Marinette stood off to the side as they waited for the picture to be framed. She whispered to him, “I have plenty of embarrassing photos of Chat Noir anyway.”

A dusting of red covered his cheeks, but he still smiled down at her. 

“I guess I have a lot of catching up to do, huh?”

\---------------

When Adrien finally made it home, he pulled out the framed picture and set it on his bedside table and looked at it one more time before getting ready for bed.

In the front row, Alya and Nino’s faces were pressed close together as they shared a kiss, their hands interlocked into the shape of a heart. Behind them, Marinette’s arms were latched around Adrien’s waist as she screamed, eyes closed in a mix of anger and fear. Meanwhile, his arms were thrown up high, not a care in the world.

And really, as long as she was right there, he didn’t.


	5. Insomnia + Ring

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alya finds a spooky board game, which leads into a frightful sleepover with the gang.

As luck would have it, Alya stumbled across something _very_ spooky the following day. Despite the short notice, she managed to get everyone together for a sleepover at Marinette’s house - a miracle in and of itself. Alya text her boyfriend to make sure he knew what he needed to bring for today, to complete the Halloween sleepover experience. 

After a big dinner from Marinette’s parents, they went to bed a little early and left the teenagers to look after themselves. Which is when Alya pulled out the game she’d bought earlier that day.

Marinette wrinkled her nose in confusion as she read the game’s titled out loud. “Ouija?”

Beside her, Adrien sucked in a breath. He looked directly at Alya. “You can’t be serious. This is heavy stuff!”

“Relax, centerfold.” Alya rolled her eyes. “It’s a board game. A spooky game, but still just a game.” She smirked. “Unless you’re too… scared?”

“I- No, I’m not- Fine!” Adrien threw his hands in the air before crossing his arms over his chest. “But don’t come crying to me when we invite ghosts or demons or whatever into our lives.”

“Whatever you say.” Alya looked toward Marinette. “How ‘bout you, M? You game?”

Marinette bit on her lower lip, looking between her friends nervously. “Um… sure. Why not?”

“Awesome, let’s get right to it!” Nino tore into the box, unfolding the board onto the ground and placing the planchette on top of it. “C’mon, dudes!” 

While they all sat on the floor around the board, Marinette tried sifting through the packaging. “Shouldn’t we read the instructions first…?”

Rolling her eyes, Alya grabbed Marinette’s hands and put them on the planchette. “Girl, this isn’t complicated. We’ve all seen it in movies and whatever, right? Well,” she admitted, seeing Marinette’s look of confusion and remembering she didn’t like scary movies, “the rest of us have. Just follow our lead.”

Once everyone had placed their hands on the planchette, Nino said, “Okay dudes, so now we can start asking questions and the little thingy will move around to spell out answers!” 

“But… what if it’s a demon or something?” Adrien asked, but at least he wasn’t removing his hands from the planchette. 

“Dude, for starters, it’s just a game and second, it’ll probably just be a stupid ghost if it anything were actually called.” Nino shook his head, smiling.

“Well, we can make that the first question!” Alya cleared her throat and addressed the room at large. “Are you a demon or just a stupid ghost?”

“Alya-” Marinette was cut off when the planchette began to move. Her eyes widened as she said the letters aloud as they were revealed. “S-T-U-P-I-D G-H-O-S-T.” She groaned. “Seriously, guys? Who is doing that?” She narrowed her eyes at Nino and Alya.

Alya shrugged. “Must be the ghost. Maybe they have low self esteem?” 

Nino fake gasped. “That should be our next question! Maybe we can help them move on!”

For the next hour, mostly driven by Alya and Nino, they played out a scene of trying to build up the ghost’s self esteem enough for it to move on. Sadly, they lost interest in carrying the conversation before giving up and unceremoniously moving onto the next thing. 

“Finally,” Marinette said as she leaned back against the couch. “Now what do you guys want to do?”

“Well, I was thinking of some horror movies…” Alya replied.

Marinette tensed before relaxing again. “Sorry, Al, but we don’t have any here. I guess we’ll have to-”

Alya nodded at Nino, who fished through his duffle bag for a handful of dvd boxes. He carried them over and set them down one by one on top of the abandoned ouija board. 

“I’ve got Corpse Bride, Coraline, Alien, Paranormal Activity, The Ring, The Shining, and Halloween.” Nino spread them out so they could look at the covers of all of them at once. It was a small fragment of his collection, but one that Alya knew was well chosen. “I’m thinking we start with these two,” Nino added, pushing Coraline and Corpse Bride away from the rest.

Adrien nodded slowly. 

“I think… I think I could handle those,” Marinette said. “We’ll see how we feel from there.”

\------------------

As Nino had expected, Marinette and especially Adrien loved the Corpse Bride to pieces - pun _definitely_ intended. With them feeling a little more confident, he introduced them to Coraline. Despite its much creepier tone, they enjoyed it too. With the scene properly set, and the night well underway, Nino decided to push the boundaries a little.

Personally, Nino’s favorite was the Shining. Excellent cinematography, slow build up, perfect location. It was a seamless fit for his favorite sort of horror - the creeping, psychological kind. Unfortunately, it might be a little… much for his horror movie virgin friends, he noted as he looked over his shoulder at Marinette and Adrien. Deciding it was better to test the waters a little more, he popped in a tamer movie.

“Ugh, Paranormal Activity?” Alya groaned as she cuddled up to Nino. “It’s so _slow_.”

“C’mon, babe. A little build up is a good thing!” He kissed the top of her head as he reached for the bowl of popcorn in her lap.

“Fine, but if I fall asleep, it's on you.”

Nino chuckled. “I figured, babe.”

He stretched out in comfort from his spot sitting on a few pillows with his back against the couch. He glanced back at Adrien and Marinette once again, at how they were close, but not too close and wondered how long that was going to last. Smirking, he returned his attention to the movie.

\-----------------

True to her word, Alya was out like a light by the time the movie was over. Apparently the build up had been far too slow for her and simply lulled her off into sleep. When it came time for the next movie, his remaining friends were shaken, but not terribly so. Which meant they were ready for even more intense horror.

Nino had Marinette put in The Ring next. It wasn’t anything that bothered him, but now that he had a handle for the boundaries of his friends… he knew it would hit them _just_ hard enough. 

Halfway through the movie, he glanced over his shoulder. He had to stifle a laugh when he saw that they’d given up all pretenses at keeping distance between them. Marinette was on Adrien’s lap, clutching to their shared blanket like a life preserver. Adrien wasn’t doing much better, his arms firmly wrapped around Marinette as he peeked out from behind her pigtails. Nino almost got the sense that he was putting her between him and the TV like a shield.

The movie ended not long after and Nino yawned. “Okay, dudes. I think I’m gonna fall asleep soon, so…”

Wide eyed, Marinette looked toward him without moving her face away from the screen. “You two can take my bed.”

“Are you sure, dude? We don’t mind-”

"I'm serious, Nino. I don’t think Adrien and I are gonna be able to sleep for a while anyway."

“If you say so, dude.” Pulling himself away from Alya and then hefting her into his arms, Nino made his way toward Marinette’s room.

\--------------

They quickly turned off the TV, plunging them into a cool darkness. They’d cleaned off the couch and were laying on it, but just as Marinette had feared, they were far off from being able to get any sleep.

"Adrien,” Marinette mumbled into his shirt, “I swear if you let the demon drag me down the hall..."

"What are you worried about an attic demon for? The TV's _right there_!” Adrien moved, and she could vaguely seen his outline gesturing wildly toward the television. “Samara's just waiting for us to fall asleep!"

"We'll be okay... right? We're superheroes. You can destroy things with a single touch!"

"Like I said, the TV's right there. Say the word and there won't be a screen for that ghost to crawl out of."

Marinette giggled, feeling a little better. Then Adrien’s breath caught. “Kitty? What’s wrong?”

“We forgot to say goodbye to the ghost when we were done playing with the Ouija board…”


	6. Lost + Ghost

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang decides to check out an old abandoned house at night.

“Hey, guys!” Adrien rushed up to where his friends were huddled together. With the darkness, he hadn’t been sure at first that it was them, but spotting Marinette’s pink winter jacket set his mind at ease. “Are we ready for some spooky times?”

“I gotta say, sunshine, I’m impressed,” Alya said as the four of them started walking.

“Well, it’s not that hard to be brave this time.” Adrien stood a little closer to Marinette when he noticed her slight shivering. “It’s just a big, empty house after all. I’ve got plenty of experience with those.”

“I guess, dude. But this isn’t just any old abandoned building.”

Adrien narrowed his eyes suspiciously at Nino. “That’s not what you said this morning. And I should know, since you called me to scream about how you’d found ‘this cool place to go exploring in’.”

“What Nino means to say is that we’ve done a bunch of research on it since then,” Alya cut in. “We’ve found some scary stuff that we’re sure is gonna freak you guys out.”

“Just for the record: I know that you’re lying,” Marinette said. “But I’m curious about your ghost stories.”

Alya pouted. “Well that takes half the fun out of it.” She shrugged. “Oh well. Let’s start with the story of the screaming girl in the walls…”

\---------------------

Entering the house hadn’t been as difficult as Marinette would have hoped. Maybe it was because no one was really expecting someone to _want_ to go exploring in a crumbling wreck, but regardless, it didn’t provide much of a deterrent to the teens sneaking inside. Marinette almost wished that it had been better locked down - maybe then they could’ve gone home early. While that would’ve meant she had snuck out for no reason, it also meant she wouldn’t have to explore a possibly haunted house close to midnight after listening to a bunch of ghost stories.

Somewhere deep in her bones, Marinette suspected that Alya and Nino were going to do their best to scare her and Adrien. They took way too much pleasure in that. Maybe that was the spirit of Halloween possessing them? Those fears seemed well founded at Alya’s next suggestion.

“Okay, gang. I think we should split up.”

Marinette shot her best friend a withering glare that she resolutely ignored. 

“Oh, don’t give me that look, M. Look at this place!” Alya spread her hands to encompass the grand staircase leading upstairs and the corridors spreading out in three directions on this floor alone. “It’ll take us ages if we do this as one group and you know it.”

Marinette pinched the bridge of her nose. “So the groups will be-”

“You and sunshine down here, me and cappy upstairs, yes.”

That suspicion returned, although now she was wondering if Alya and Nino weren’t just going to sneak off and make out somewhere. At this point, they felt like equally likely possibilities.

Before Marinette could present her misgivings, Adrien said, “That sounds fine. You two have fun… ‘exploring’.” He waggled his eyebrows, prompting Alya to roll her eyes and Nino to grin.

Once the other two disappeared upstairs, Adrien bowed to Marinette and gestured towards the right hallway. 

“Shall we?”

Marinette giggled and flipped her flashlight on. “We shall.”

Her courage nearly evaporated when she thought she heard tiny voices, like those of children, coming from somewhere nearby. It sounded like they were whispering to each other.

“Something wrong?”

She looked toward Adrien and his concerned eyes. Try as she might, she didn’t hear anything now. She shook her head. “...It was nothing, I think. Come on!”

After trudging through the darkness and over creaky floorboards, they came to a stuck door. Between the two of them, they managed to pry it open. A big, decaying table sat in the middle of what appeared to be a kitchen. Marinette picked up the sturdy looking candlestick that sat at the edge of the table.

While she hefted it in her hands, Adrien paused in his exploration of the cupboards to glance over to her. “Grabbing a souvenir? I didn’t realize you were the sticky fingers type, bugaboo.”

An embarrassed blush spread across her cheeks. “Um… about that... remind me to tell you about your phone later, okay?”

He raised an eyebrow, but didn’t comment. 

There was movement to her side and the quiet was broken when the table suddenly collapsed. Her own terrified squeak added to the noise as she dodged out of the way. Not that she needed to - none of the rotted wood got close to her.

Adrien was at her side in a moment, carefully looking at her feet and legs for any signs of injury. He breathed a sigh of relief.

“...Let’s keep moving, okay? I don’t really want to be in this room anymore.” He glared at the ruined table, as if daring it to try and attack her again.

She nodded mutely and they continued their search.

\------------------

Alya let her light rake across the walls of the room, giving only a cursory glance at her surroundings. So far, exploring the house hadn’t been quite the adventure she had been hoping for. It made weird noises and smelled weird too. If they’d come during the day like the scaredy cats had wanted, she would’ve been bored to tears. As it stands, she was intrigued and her heartbeat was a little faster than usual. 

Then again, she thought as she squeezed Nino’s hand, maybe that last part wasn’t because of the house at all.

“You really think we’ll find anything worth talking about here?” Nino tugged at his hat as he searched the corners of the room. “Dunno if we’ll even be able to put this in the presentation.”

She shrugged. “We might be able to if we keep it vague. But, honestly, this is more about freaking out Mari and blondie than anything else.”

“You’ve really got it out for them.” Nino chuckled. “You got a mean streak under all that sugar.”

“And don’t forget it, babe.” She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. “But no, I just don’t get the excuse to mess with her a lot. At least, not like this. She’s pretty good at avoiding horror most of the time.”

“Oh man, you should have seen their faces during that sleepover when-”

They were both startled at the sound of a door slamming shut. Specifically, the one that led into the room they were in. After a moment of hesitation, Alya rushed forward to pull at the handle. Despite her fears, the door opened as easy as it had when they came in. Some of the tension left her. Not a lot, but a little.

“That was, uh…” Nino swallowed. “...Spooky.”

“Yeah…” Alya narrowed her eyes at the door. “Must have been-”

“Babe, I swear if you say it was just the wind I’m divorcing you right now.”

Despite how her heart was pounding, she smirked. “A shame we aren’t married. But seriously, these houses have weird air flow. One strong gust from outside and,” she clapped her hands together. “Door slams.”

“If you say so… Back to it, then?”

“Well, duh. It’s getting interesting now.”

\---------------------

Nino definitely wasn’t having a good time now. Something about the place put him on edge. Like there was someone (or some_thing_) watching from the shadows. An omnipresent scratching sound that Alya had claimed was probably just some trees outside. The only light in the building was the one from the flashlights, which meant he was blind in almost all directions.

Atmospheric horror at its best. Exactly like he enjoyed out of a movie.

But also way too real for him to really appreciate.

“We’ve been in here like, what? Half an hour?” Nino whispered to Alya, one hand latched onto her sweater sleeve. “We can probably call it quits now, right?”

“Come on, babe! Things are just getting interesting now!” 

To his dismay, he realized she was leading him towards the scratching sound. He mentioned this out loud.

“Well, it’s our only lead right now. It could just be a tree or an animal or whatever.”

“Yeah, well, if it isn’t? What then?”

“Then we have some real ghost action up in here!” Alya put her ear close to the door they’d reached. “Now, shush. Whatever is making that sound is on the other side.” She put a hand on the door knob and grinned.

When she pushed open the door, her grin immediately vanished, replaced with a mask of horror. It wasn’t an animal or a tree. But they found what the scratching was about.

Carved into the wall in big, scrawled letters were the words, “STUPID GHOST.”

\-----------------

Adrien and Marinette had doubled back to the staircase and went down the big, central hall. A lot of little things had started piling up on their minds - faint cackling, weird smells, small things crumbling like the table - and suddenly they didn’t want to stray very far from the entry any more. The only thing still keeping them there was bullheaded stubbornness and not wanting to leave their friends behind.

That brought them to what Adrien assumed was the living room. At least, that’s the sense that he got from the mouldering couches and the dead fireplace. Any other hints about what had been here had long since been eaten up by time. 

They both heard a scraping noise, like metal on stone, and froze. It was really getting to them, but Adrien was having just about enough. So he did the one thing he knew would take both of their minds off of it. He put his hands on Marinette’s shoulders.

“Mari?”

“Hm?”

“We should go on a date after this.”

She stopped and looked wide eyed at him. “I- What?”

“You and me, flowers, chocolate, you’ll wear a pretty dress you made. It’ll be great.”

“That…” She swallowed and gave a weak smile. “That sounds amazing. I’d love to.” Marinette hugged herself and shivered. She jumped when Adrien wrapped an arm around her, but shot a grateful look up at him. “Th-thanks, Adrien. I hate the cold.”

At that moment, the fireplace flared to life, startling both of them. Carved into the stone in the back, where they couldn’t see before, was a single sentence:

YOU DIDN’T SAY GOODBYE.

With that, the two of them bolted from the room into the hallway. The house was suddenly alive with sound as Alya and Nino rushed down the stairs at the same time. Everyone began talking excitedly all at once. Adrien risked a glance behind him, towards the abandoned living room. His eyes widened and he pointed a trembling finger at the shadowy figure behind them.

“G-ghost! Demon! Thing!”

Which was more or less accurate - he couldn’t get a good sense of the shape of the creature, but there were tendrils of inky blackness that caused things to rot and crumble when it brushed against them. There was a wall of sound that he belatedly realized was the four of them screaming at once before they were suddenly a flurry of limbs rushing towards the exit. There was a sound of metal hitting wood as Marinette dropped the candlestick in her haste. 

The main doors slammed shut behind them. 

\--------------------

They didn’t stop running until they’d put a couple blocks between them and the house. 

Alya managed to speak between gasps of breath, “So that was… something. Very spooky.” The combined glares of the other three proved deafening. “Okay, fine, fine. I’ll take full blame if we get permanently haunted ‘cuz of this. Let’s just go home, alright?”

“You mind if I come over to your place, babe? I, uh… Don’t want to be by myself right now.”

“I’m very glad you asked first. Yes. Let’s watch a rom com or four.”

“Throw in a spy flick and we’ll call it good.”

Trailing a little behind the other two, Adrien weaved his fingers between Marinette’s and whispered, “So does Saturday sound alright to you?”

She blinked up at him. “Huh?”

“For the best date of our lives?”

No response except more blinking.

“Mari, say something. I already promised flowers and chocolates and I can't break that promise now-mmmmph!"

He was suddenly cut off by her pulling him down to her level and pressing her lips to his.

She sighed against him and whispered back, “Saturday sounds wonderful, kitty.”

\---------------------

_An hour earlier..._

“Come on, Sugarcube! It’ll be fun.” 

Plagg floated around Tikki in an abandoned closet under the staircase. He’d dragged her off while their chosen had been focused on entering the house.

“I don’t know, Plagg… It seems awfully mean.”

“But, sugarcube, when was the last time we got to celebrate Samhain? It’s been centuries! Opportunities like this don’t come around that often.”

Despite herself Tikki smirked. “Well… I don’t see any jack o'lanterns around. If they didn’t want to be haunted, they should have taken the proper steps against malevolent spirits.”

“That’s the spirit! Why don’t you go after the spectacles gang. Take some revenge on behalf of your little bug.”

Tikki’s eyes narrowed. She hadn’t been very appreciative on how they’d been pushing Marinette into these situations.

“I think I’d like that a lot.” She started to phase through the floors before quickly returning. “Oh! I almost forgot - Happy Samhain, stinky sock.”

Plagg grinned back at her. “And a happy Samhain to you too, Tik.”


	7. Catch + Class Trip

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another great idea by Alya, except now she's getting the whole class involved.

“So I’ve been thinking…” Alya began.

Marinette groaned.

“Hush, you.” Alya tried to shoot a glare at Marinette, but was too busy fighting down a grin at her best friend’s dramatics to pull it off. “So, we can’t use that place as a reference for our project ‘cause they’d probably frown on us breaking into an old house.”

The others nodded from around their cafe table. They’d all suspected that’d be the case when they had planned to go there from the beginning.

“I think I have the solution.” They watched her curiously. “We should make our own haunted house.” 

She was immediately rewarded with looks ranging from shock to anger to grim acceptance from her friends.

“What, exactly, about that terrible place makes you want to do it again?” Marinette crossed her arms and leaned against the table, glaring at her best friend across from her. 

“I’m sure she has a good reason for it,” Adrien replied, rubbing circles on his girlfriend’s back. Excluding the confirmation that ghosts are real and are dicks, that romantic development was the most interesting take away from their little expedition. “Well, she’d better have a good reason for it.”

Alya glanced at Nino, but found no help coming from that direction as he stared resolutely into his coffee, taking a long sip as she watched. 

“Okay, I get that it was super freaky at that old house BUT,” she held up a hand to stop Marinette from interrupting, “we can tone it down a lot. Make it fun rather than scary. Maybe something for kids?”

“I’d be down with that,” Nino said, nodding. “It’d be nice to be on the other end of the scares for once.”

Marinette frowned. “I still don’t know… I don’t really want to scare anyone.”

“Me neither,” Adrien added.

“That’s fine.” Alya waved her hand dismissively. “You guys can just be on the outside to let them in a little at a time and then hand them candy on their way out. No need for you guys to be spooky. You’ll still need to be in costumes, though.”

They looked at Marinette, who held her hands up. “Sorry, I can’t do that many costumes that quickly. We’ll have to get some cheap ones from a shop.”

Alya sighed. “Dang. It was a longshot anyway. It’ll all kinda be last minute anyway, so at least the costumes will be right at home.”

“That still doesn’t answer how you plan to pull this off,” Adrien said. “When did you want to do this?”

“Ideally… this weekend.” Again with the disbelieving stares. “Yeah, I know, it’s only a couple days, but next week is the last week of October and we still have our final project to throw together. But don’t worry! I have a plan.” 

\-------------------

To Adrien’s surprise, things went off without any problems. Alya asked for some help setting up a spooky little ‘maze’ - in reality, just a U-shaped corridor - from Ms Bustier. Their teacher wholeheartedly approved and offered extra credit to anyone who was willing to spend Friday afternoon helping with set-up and running the event. 

Practically the entire class was helping out in one way or another. Rose and Juleka were inside the maze with Nino and Alya, keen on getting some screams out of some kids. Max and Markov pulled off some programming wizardry with their lighting and sound effects. Kim and Ivan took turns being the strongman in charge of pulling ropes and strings to get props moving on the inside. Mylene, Nathaniel, and Marc all manned the snack bar after getting done painting props. 

Which just left Adrien himself and Marinette, guarding the exit and entrance respectively. Thanks to the shape of the haunted house, they were practically standing next to each other. She’d tell scary stories made up on the spot to get the groups primed and ready. He’d hand out candy as a reward for making it out in one piece. 

There weren’t many kids in costume, but that wasn’t too surprising. He’d only barely managed to get his cheap werewolf costume (overnight shipping is a wonderful thing), and even Marinette had been hard pressed to get the basics of a vampire outfit put together. As always, she looked absolutely adorable and he took every opportunity to tell her this. 

That was actually the reason he had started to turn around at just the right moment. To achieve the best ambiance for inside the maze, the lights had to be dim outside of it too. For most people, this wasn’t much of an issue. But Marinette wasn’t like most people.

So as Adrien began to turn, he was in a prime position to see Marinette step on her own cape and nearly go tumbling to the floor. ‘Nearly’ because like hell was he going to let her fall while he was around. With catlike reflexes, he caught her by the shoulders and her head connected with his chest rather than the floor. 

Marinette’s braced expression slowly faded away and she blinked up at Adrien with wide, bright blue eyes. Surprise melted into affection as their arms wrapped around each other. 

They nearly got lost in the moment when a child emerged from the exit behind him and loudly proclaimed, “Look, mommy! Wolfman wuvs the vampire!”

He brushed an errant lock of hair out of Marinette’s face and smiled. “He sure does.”


	8. Enchanted + Vacation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With their project finished, the gang realizes they aren't quite done with Halloween just yet.

“I can’t believe our project is over!” Alya groaned as she sat down in the lunch room. Nino patted her back consolingly. “There were so many things I still wanted to try!”

Nino nodded sagely and tugged at his cap. “Yeah dudes, I really wanted to find a way to stay in a cabin in the woods.” He grinned at Adrien. “Classic horror movie set up.”

“Okay,” Marinette said as she pinched the bridge of her nose, “I’m just going to ignore the fact that you're trying to get me to another creepy location. Anyway, I _did_ want to try apple cider or roasted marshmallows…”

Across the table from Alya, Adrien grinned. She gave him a suspicious look. “What’ve you got bouncing around in that blonde head of yours, Adrien?”

“Well… the weekend is coming around.” Adrien rubbed the back of his neck. “And my family has a vacation home in the Black Forest…”

They all exchanged looks.

“I’m sure papa and maman can spare me for the weekend, right?”

“Hawkmoth _has_ been super quiet. I probably wouldn’t miss out on any footage for the Ladyblog.”

“Sick! I’m totally down for it!”

“That’s great!” Adrien beamed. “We’ll probably have to take the Gorilla with us, but other than that, I should be fine.”

As they began to excitedly make plans for an impromptu weekend getaway, Adrien felt a warmth spread out through his chest. Some part of him had been worried that the end of Halloween would mean toning down their time that they could hang out together. But as he watched Marinette gush about American s’mores, he knew that there would be a lot more adventures to come.

\------------

The following day, they met up after school at Adrien’s mansion with their small suitcases - one of which had the horse miraculous tucked safely inside, just in case. They all got stuffed in a van as the Gorilla drove them out of Paris and into Germany’s Black Forest. It was a four hour drive, one that Marinette spent alternating between drawing in her sketchbook and napping on Adrien. 

The trip down the old, winding road saw them surrounded by ancient forests that creaked and moaned with the wind. Glimpses of the setting sun were few and far between as the grasping, naked branches strove to blot out the light. It was enough to bring a shiver down Marinette’s spine, one that had nothing at all to do with the chill. 

When they arrived, just an hour or two before dark, the Gorilla helped them move everything out of the car and drove back down the road to the nearby village. 

“Dude, is he gonna be okay chillin’ by himself?” Nino asked while they carried their luggage inside the cabin.

“Oh yeah! He’s actually looking forward to the time off. It’ll let him get caught up with his soap operas.” Adrien cleared his throat. “But, um… don’t tell anyone I said that.”

“Enough gossiping, boys,” Alya said. “What do we want to do first?”

A biting wind rustled the trees and Marinette shivered despite her warm sweater. She looked at the firepit, where a couple thick logs had been dragged nearby as seats, and a stack of smaller logs and branches had been set. “Maybe someone should get a fire going while the rest of us unpack?”

“Dibs!” Alya shouted, just barely speaking up before Nino. At the same time she snatched his hat off of him and wore it triumphantly. While he trudged off pouting, Alya caught Marinette’s arm. “Stay with me, girl. I could use a helping hand.”

It took some trial and error, but eventually they got the kindling to ignite. A roaring bonfire sprung to life, pushing back the autumn chill. 

“Great job, guys!” Adrien wrapped an arm around Marinette’s waist and kissed her temple. “Everything’s set up, so whenever we’re done we can head inside.”

Alya rubbed her hands excitedly together. “Which means it’s time for scary stories!”

Marinette exchanged a look with Adrien. “Um… how about we wait until the sun is down before we start? For, uh, maximum spookiness.”

“Hm…” Alya shot Marinette a suspicious look. “That does sound like a good plan, but I’m onto you, girl. What’re we gonna do in the meantime?”

“I’ve got just the thing, babe.” Nino hand each of them a metal skewer. “My boy and I found these in the cabin while we were getting set up. Time for s’mores, yeah?”

Once they all stabbed a marshmallow onto their sticks, they glanced around at each other hesitantly. Adrien spoke up first. “So, um… how does it go?” 

After a few failed starts and burnt creations, they finally perfected the craft. Adrien had run back inside to bring out the hot cider as they cooked around the fire. It was hard to pinpoint the moment that the last few drops of sunlight vanished over the horizon. They were lit by the flickering orange light of the fire, casting dancing shadows on their faces.

“Okay, so _now_ we have the time for-” Alya started, only to be cut off by Nino pointing at the sky.

“Woah, dudes! Would you look at that!” For just a brief moment, Marinette caught Nino’s eyes before they both looked up. He gave her a knowing wink.

Staring into the sky, Marinette realized that she’d never really gotten to see the stars before. Paris was the city of lights, after all - the only thing she’d ever seen in the night sky had been the moon alone. She had always had the sensation that the moon felt lonely, but out here? There were more than enough stars to keep them company. 

Alya sat up on the log they’d been leaning against, a wide grin gleaming in the firelight as she stared at the heavens. She pointed at constellations and named them, telling their stories. It wasn’t the campfire tales Marinette had been expecting, but they were a welcome deviation. 

As Marinette settled into Adrien’s side, he draped an arm over her shoulder and pulled her even closer. And with that, the spooky season they explored for a month began to fade, but the feeling of togetherness remained behind, warm and comforting as the fire.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...And that ends the Search for Halloween! Thank you everyone who has been reading along. It has been an interesting experience for me since I've never done a collab before, least of all with an artist rather than a writer. I'm fairly proud of how it turned out and I hoped you all enjoyed it as well.
> 
> I've got more stories planned to begin this coming month, even if I'll be toning it down a little in November because of Nanowrimo. Keep an eye out for more by me, and remember to check out the artist's tumblr!


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